


They just called him the Major

by letitrainathousandflames



Series: Major Butler's Classified Files [1]
Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood, Bodyguard, Character Death, Foreshadowing, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Insomnia, M/M, Military Training, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Swearing, Violence, because the fowldom is the best, i'm pretty sure it's illegal to beat the living crap out of a 13-year-old but, i'm taking a heckton of headcanons from tumblr, madam ko is a bit unhinged but we just shrug it off amirite, okay tag rant over, this is an angst fest pls be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-06 16:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11604696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letitrainathousandflames/pseuds/letitrainathousandflames
Summary: It was brutal, the whole thing. It made him stronger, it made him fit for his job. Cut for it. This is what he had been. A stone in the rough, that needed to have some parts of him cut off and discarded. Maybe that's why Madam Ko would give her top apprentices the blue diamond symbol - they'd be polished into perfection, to be tougher than anything they might ever face.When the needles pierced the diamond shape on Butler's shoulder, he did not flinch. His numb self couldn't feel anything, not after the five years of training at Madam Ko's academy and the things he saw on his time there.





	1. The Blue Diamond Trials

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is about Atemis Senior's bodyguard, Major Butler, and how his fate came to make him another child of the Butler lineage to serve under the Fowls. Warnings for blood, violence, guns and gunfire. Some canon divergence may apply. If I failed to give any warnings, please let me know as I'm new to publishing fanfics. Also, it may look rushed and hell yeah it is! I wrote this on a four-hour whim so i didnt really make cool background descriptions or anything like that. Sorry! Well then, onwards and thanks for reading~

On and on the Fowls would be guarded, mentored and protected by a Butler assigned to them. For generations it had been like that, and it wouldn’t be any different when Artemis was born. Artemis was actually going to be known as Artemis I later on his life, when his but this is a whole other story.

The Butler assigned to him had an extensive training as it was expected to any young one in the Butler family. His predecessor had been no less than his mother Nadia Butler back in the 70’s, and the woman could take care of a fully equipped squad without messing her hair neatly tied up in a bun. Some large shoes to fit in.

This Butler wasn't particularly excited to meet his new charge. When he was about thirteen years old right before he left for his training with madam Ko, an experienced bodyguard trainer, he could take a glimpse of the baby on the arms of one of Mrs. Fowl’s employees. Butler's mother tapped him on the shoulder, checking her wristwatch and gesturing for him to follow her.

“Time to go. Your training awaits you.”

Butler nodded, walking along her side through the manor. Nadia’s heels clicked with every step, echoing through the halls. Butler knew she hated wearing those shoes for how unpractical they were, but these were the standards of the female employees under charge of the Fowls: her long blond hair tied in a bun, her high heels, tailleur with a skirt that would prevent most of the needed movements for a fight. Nadia used to tell Butler everyday how much she cherished the gun on the holster over her ribcage, because if she actually depended solely on her fighting skills, things could get dangerous due to her assigned wardrobe.

Butler was about to get in the passenger seat of the limousine in which a driver had been already waiting to take him to the airport when Nadia held him by the shoulder. The boy turned to face his mother and could see her usually stern features almost showing a hint of sadness.

“Make me proud. You come back with a blue diamond, or don’t you even dare to come back.”

Butler nodded. He knew she would be like that.

“Yes, mother. I will.”

Nadia looked over her shoulder, to the Fowl Manor.

“Young master Artemis will need a bodyguard, a Butler, to take care of him. Your sister does not wish to be one and… Well, she’s really getting married with that man, apparently. So you’re the only one left to carry on your family’s duty.” Nadia shook her head and frowned as if her niece’s life choices were similar to a painful wound. “Don’t you dare bother Mrs. Ko. It’s not worth it.”

Butler nodded, and Nadia shifted her weight as if she was considering whether or not to hug her son. In the end, she settled for a soft pat to his head, turning her back on him quickly.

“I won’t wish you good luck” she said without turning back to him, “because it isn’t about luck, but effort. Make me proud, Butler.”

Butler nodded, getting in the car. To get him used to his future position as the bodyguard of a Fowl, Nadia had been calling him by his last name since he was eight. Sometimes Butler would think he’d forgotten his own name.

 

* * *

 

“Get up.”, barked Madam Ko

Butler laid on the rough snow dressed in no more than a pair of cotton pants and a tank top. His fingers felt numb and it was like his whole body just wanted to shut down and die from the cold. The wind howled, stinging his skin and making him feel even colder. Madam Ko hit him on his ribs with a sharp jab of her wooden staff.

“I said get up.”, she repeated. “I won’t help you up, boy. I’ll leave you out here for dead. Your mother signed the papers. I can let you die, and I will if you don’t get up now.”

Butler tried to say something, but he couldn’t; too much blood in his mouth. He spat red on the white snow, closing his hands into fists while each of his knuckles cracked.

“Help me up…” he begged in a pained grunt “Please. The way you hit me on my knee… Can’t stand up.”

Madam Ko did not take pity on him. Instead, she hit him with another sharp jab at his ribs.

“The others are inside already”, she said, and it sounded almost like teasing “Eating, warming up, resting. Do you want to rest too? Then get up.”

Butler rolled to his side, groaning and clutching his stomach and spitting more blood.

“Can’t get up.” he confessed

“Then you’ll die.” answered Madam Ko with a shrug “A pathetic end for a man of your lineage.”

Butler felt dizzy and exhausted. He looked ahead, to the camp where he could see the ember light of the bonfire, and the outlines of his mates. They moved their hands towards their faces in a gesture that resembled the act of eating. Butler haven’t had anything since the very small portion of food they’ve had for breakfast, and that was terribly unsatisfying for a teenager who trained so hard every day, not to mention his size.

“Just help me stand up.” He argued “I’ll do all the walking, I’ll limp all the way there if I must, but I need help to stand up first. Please, Madam.”

“No.”

“If you just…!”

“If you can’t fight for himself, how do you expect to be able to fight for your charge? Your charge would be dead now, by the way.” She added coldly “You failed on combat against me, and nothing stands between his throat and the sharp knife in my belt. You failed to defeat me.”

“All the others did…”, argued Butler

“True. But only you managed to get hurt like this. You have too much in your mind and it’s getting on your way. You need to think clearly to fight properly.”

Butler shook his head weakly. The taste of blood in his mouth was nauseating.

“There’s nothing in my mind.”

Sometimes Madam Ko would look just like a regular woman, all charm and smiles, but then she’d turn back to her steely self. She scoffed, and it made her sound exactly like a mix of the mid-30’s small Japanese woman she was and the ruthless martial arts instructor she was as well.

“Yes, this is another way to put it.”

Butler looked ahead, to the fire light, to the idea of heat and food and rest.

“You… You said I just had to get back there, right madam?”

“Correct.”

Butler nodded, stretching his arm forward and digging his fingers in the snow ahead to then drag himself over it, his limp body being dragged as if it was an old ragdoll’s.

“Then it doesn’t matter how I do it, right?” he provoked, pulling himself farther ahead, slowly dragging himself through the rough snow

Madam Ko spun her staff between her fingers skillfully and Butler flinched, expecting the sharp pain of a jab to his ribs, but instead the lady tied the weapon back to the silk belt on her waist. She turned her back on Butler, walking towards the camp. Butler hesitated to then ask:

“Madam? It doesn’t matter, does it?” Madam Ko kept walking away, and Butler insisted “Madam? Am I expelled?”

Madam Ko looked over her shoulder without actually looking at Butler, walking away still.

“No. I only want to sit and eat like your fellow colleagues, and I do not wish to wait until you drag your useless body to the camp. The food rations are limited to as much as you need to stay alive, and if I were you, I’d be worried if someone would eat my share. I’m afraid miss Commons can’t keep always saving her own to share with you every time you screw up.”

Butler kept dragging himself through the snow. This would take a long time, and so he thought to himself, and hopefully he’d reach the camp before hypothermia got to him. His fingers felt numb and looked almost purple-ish, the verge from the healthy meaty color to the dead of blue frostbitten flesh. He tried to get on his knees but his pained ribs wouldn’t allow it. Butler did think over the idea that maybe Madam Ko had cracked at least one of them. His breathing was shallow and a sharp pain stung his chest whenever he’d draw a breath.

 

* * *

 

 

Five years later, shortly before the candidates’ test for graduating Madam Ko’s academy and finally earning the blue diamond tattoo, the place in which Madam Ko had decided to have them tested was attacked; quite a feat when you’re in the tall snowy mountains of Paro, Bhutan, in an area that’s hardly accessible and previously checked by Ko herself. None of the students were harmed, but Ko herself dodged a bullet right on time. No shooter was found anywhere nearby, and an atmosphere of uneasiness settled amongst the ones training under her charge.

Instead of backing out and taking the blue diamond test somewhere else, Ko decided to  use their attacker as part of the test itself. Dividing her students into groups of three, she determined that the group that managed to capture or kill the assassin sent to kill her would automatically earn their blue diamond.

One of Butler’s companions, a certain Victoria Commons – second best in hand-to-hand combat and best in rifle marksmanship in their group – was congratulating him over steamed fish and rice in a tent in the woods.

“Must say” she said with a mouthful of rice slowing down her words “Ne’er tho’ght you’d even get outta Ko’s alive.”

A young man was sitting out of their tent, and he shook his head in disbelief.

“Ko took pity on him.” he taunted. His name was Elliot Peretti, – second best in stealth training – part of the trio Ko had placed Butler in for their final training, and he kept watch with his rifle on his lap “I mean, big guy, family history, one of the legendary Butlers, she expected him to be stronger and he’s… I mean, she kicked his ass on day one.”

“She kicked everyone’s ass on day one.” added Commons as she finally swallowed down her food “Leave him alone, Peretti, don’t be a prick.”

Peretti hummed and went back to his silent guarding. Commons turned to Butler, giving him a half-smile.

“You don’t talk much, do you?”

Butler shrugged.

“Not if I can help it.”

Commons sighed, grabbing her flask and opening it up.

“You guys are a pain, you know? If we’re gonna be stuck here until the target shows up, we might as well at least share some stories. This might take weeks, months even.”

“Stories are intel.” said Butler flatly “I don’t need to give you details about any person I may care about. The last thing I need are killers going after them.”

Commons took a sip, nodding nonchalantly.

“Ok, ok, I get it, I’m gonna shut up.” She kept quiet for a solid minute, running her hands over her short curly hair before she closed her flask with a click to then reopen it “You guys wanna play ‘never have I ever’?”

Peretti groaned, taking his eye off the gun’s aim while Commons drank another sip.

“Never have I ever heard you shut up.” he said sounding vaguely annoyed

Butler sighed and nodded.

“I’d drink to that.”

Commons snorted water out of her nose, hurrying to wipe her face off while she lifted her wide-open brown eyes to Butler.

“Oh my god, he made a joke. A lightning’s gonna strike us dead, Peretti, you better get back inside.”

“Shh!” hissed Peretti

“C’mon”, complained Commons “it wasn’t a quality joke but still…”

“Shh!” he hissed more sharply “Heard something.”

Commons immediately put her flask down, hand traveling fast to the Beretta on her holster. The smile on her full lips  and the joy in her eyes were replaced by a stern, focused look.

“Steps?”, she asked, turning to check on Butler, but he was already outside next to Peretti; he was quick for a man his size and held his Sig Sauer held in his hands between his thighs; he was crouched like a cat, eyes darting in the dark and rocky landscape “What do we do?”

Peretti wore the the sniper rifle’s strap over his left shoulder, keeping his right hand on the pistol in his own holster as he got up.

“I’ll check the surroundings.”, his tone was low enough so that only Butler would hear him “Keep an eye on the girl, I’ll see if I find anything.”

Butler nodded, eyes on Peretti’s back until he disappeared in the shadows down the trail. Commons crouched next to Butler, eyes on the opposite side.

“Hell, I just hope I don’t die like this. I promised I’d come back with the diamond.”

Butler didn’t answered. He was too focused on every single sound around them. Wind brushing the bamboo leafs. Croaking toads. Crickets. The soft patter of Peretti’s footsteps dying in the distance. He was really stealthy, the only one able to steal the sword Madam Ko had challenged them to back in the temple. Hopefully he’d come back alive, otherwise it’d be only Butler and Commons against a killer who’d know exactly where they were. Speaking of her, there she was again:

“You’re really not gonna ask me who I promised to come back with the blue diamond to?”

Butler ignored her, looking around in the dark with Peretti’s night-vision binoculars. Nothing, at least nothing as far as the thing allowed him to see. To a skilled sniper, they might be perfectly visible. The tension gnawed at Butler’s guts while the minutes passed, and then became hours. As soon as he was done with Ko’s he’d join the army as he’d intended to and to hell with this bodyguarding business. It was already stressing to care for Commons’ life and she was a trained woman. Taking care of a dainty Fowl civilian would be just too much. His mother would be disappointed but his sister would probably compliment him for the choice. Last time he heard of her she was engaged, living a happy normal life. He wished Commons’ carefree attitude didn’t remind him so much of his sister.

“You know what” continued Commons, apparently incapable of getting a hint or feeling any tension whatsoever “I’m gonna tell you anyway. My son. I promised him to come back with the blue diamond tattoo.”

“Commons” said Butler flatly for what seemed to be the tenth time in two days “Again: this is not a summer camp.”

“Actually” replied Commons, and Butler groaned “This looks a lot like some Jason movie. Which sucks.”, she added “I don’t wanna be stabbed to death with a machete.”

“Just your luck” murmured Butler, praying this would get Commons to shut up “Looks like our killer is more of a shooter.”

“Bet it hurts less. Hey, how’d you rather die: shot, thrown off a cliff or…”

Quick-paced footsteps interrupted her, and the both of them rose their guns to the shadows ahead, but Peretti’s voice came from afar:

“It’s me!” he panted, rushing to his mates, the sniper rifle bouncing on his back dangling off his right shoulder “Shit.” He cursed, placing his hands on his knees and breathing heavily “Shit. Shit. Fuck.”

Commons and Butler looked at Peretti eagerly, waiting for him to catch his breath. He lift his face to them, pale and wide-eyed, wiping his blond hair off his sweaty forehead. It was odd to see a man sweat in the middle of a snowy mountain, his brown winter coat closed up over his neck. He swallowed hard, then his voice came hoarse.

“He shot them. The killer. Shot Lee and Rivera dead on their heads. They were lying on their own camp, bullet holes drilled in their foreheads.”

Commons clamped her mouth shut muffling a whimper and Butler’s eyes grew wide. Things  were getting far too dangerous.

“We could call it off.” suggested Peretti “Tell Madam Ko we’re done and just leave.”

There was thick silence between the three of them as they looked at each other uncertainly.

“And give up on the diamond?” asked Commons

“Better than giving up on our lives.” argued Peretti “Butler?”

Butler holstered his gun and crossed his arms, frowning.

“I’m not quitting. I need the blue diamond.”

Commons nodded.

“Me too.”

Peretti cursed some more, scratching the back of his head and sighing.

“Fine. Fine, goddamnit, we stay.”

“Aw, Peretti, you found your guts.” teased Commons “Momma’s so proud.”

“I swear to god, one day I’ll shove that flask’a yours down your throat to see if I get you to shut up.”

So they kept watching, taking turns to sleep. One particular cold night Commons was drawing the smoke out of her cigarette as if it was a lover’s kiss. Butler took his eyes off the binoculars for a brief instant, looking at her.

“This is gonna kill you, you know?”

Commons let out a smoky breath, frowning.

“I know. I had promised my son that I was gonna quit. He’d be disappointed if he could understand words.” she flickered the ashes away absently “He’s only two. His dad’s taking care of him.”

Butler went back to the binoculars.

“Husband?”

“Divorced. It’s complicated.”

“Didn’t ask.”

“You never do.”

Silence. Not even the crickets were being noisy this time. Butler had a feeling the last snowfall had killed them all. He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking over and over if he should say anything. Then…

“I have a sister. Last time I heard of her, she was engaged and pregnant.”

Commons’ chin dropped. She probably thought she’d never know anything about her stubborn squadmate, and now, after four years of absolutely nothing, he finally spoke about something other than guns, ammunitions and how batshit crazy Madam Ko was.

“And I wonder if my mother will force her to make her child to be a bodyguard. Another Butler bodyguard.” he paused, sighing, while Commons’ dragged another puff “I think she will. Especially if I go to the army instead of being the younger Fowl’s bodyguard. Maybe if I do become a bodyguard, I’ll spare the kid this fate. But then again, it’s not what I want to do. Do I do it for my nephew or niece, or do I do what I want?”

Commons suddenly coughed sharply, choking on her own smoke.

“God – hack – goddamn , you stay silent as a grave all these years and now you just spill the whole thing and even ask me for advice? What the hell, man?”

Butler shook his head, lowering the binoculars again.

“You know what? Nevermind. Go back to your cigarette.”

Commons let out a laugh, her eyes going up to the stars glittering above. The young woman was deadly, but far too easily distracted.

“Why don’t you have a kid of your own and make sure that your nephew or niece will never even be considered for a position with the Fowls?”

Butler kept talking just for the heck of it now.

“I’d need someone to have that kid with, smart girl.”

“Well” Commons shrugged “Are you interested in anybody?”

“Hard to feel anything for the same people we’re tackling on the ground on a daily basis.”

Commons nodded, then scooted over closer to Butler’s side.

“Can I tell ya a secret?”

Butler looked down to her smiling face and suddenly felt a dreading fear that she might say exactly what he’d been expecting of her since she asked the silly question.

“Yes…?”

Commons winked, her voice a whisper now:

“I’m kinda into Peretti.” Butler froze in place, letting out what sounded like either a sigh of relief or a grunt of surprise. “I mean, he’s handsome, isn’t he? And when he’s not cranky, he’s pretty cool.”

Butler shifted uncomfortably on his place. Yes, Peretti was handsome. Butler may have thought about this fact one time or five throughout the years of training on Madam Ko’s academy. His lanky body allowed him to be sneaky and silent, his blond thick hair, arched bow-shaped lips and strong jaw gave were part of the beautiful features that would make it easy for him to get people’s trust. Beauty was always something that counted to a spy, it made it easy to seduce people and not have many questions asked.

“He’s handsome” stated Butler coldly “if you’re into that type of guy.”

Commons smiled, shaking her head.

“Okay, I’ll bite it. What type of guy is he?”

Butler looked over his shoulder, to the shape of Peretti lying in the sleeping bag. He turned back ahead, placing the binoculars back over his eyes and kept scanning their surroundings.

“He’s quiet, but not too much. Not like- like me. He makes sure to pass the image of a closed off man that will open up if you just say the right things. As if you have to earn the right of getting him to open up. He’s always completely focus on his work, yet somehow manages to spare part of his attention to make witty remarks to make sure he’s identified, marked, remembered. He can’t stand being a blank man in the crowd, he craves to be someone, to…”

He cut himself off abruptly, and went back to his silent watch. Commons sighed, smashing her cigarette against the rocky ground.

“Damn, how long have you been thinking about all that?” she muttered “Do I get a cool description too?”

Butler snorted softly.

“You’re the annoying younger kid”

“Hey, C'mon!”

 

The following night was the one they were supposed to check in with the other camp near them, and Butler volunteered to do it. Not only because he’d appreciate some time away from Commons’ blabbering, but also because he felt an urge to stay away from both of them – Commons and Peretti. There was something about the American of Italian ascendance that made him uncomfortable, and he wanted to find out what it was exactly so that he could get rid of it.

The camp to which he was headed to was the one closest to the ancient hidden temple in which Madam Ko had been taking cover, waiting for her students to eliminate the threat as part of their test. While Butler’s feet carried him carefully through the rocky trail, his mind was wondering off on his future. Should he join the Irish armed forces? Should he just appease to his mother’s wishes and become a bodyguard of the Fowls? Should he actually pursue marriage and children, or even a fling with some pretty woman?

It wasn’t a pretty woman who crossed his mind though; it was Peretti’s sly smile that invaded his carefully planned out thoughts, and he halted his steps, frowning. This was getting really annoying. Damn Commons, that little loudmouth girl. Thankfully, Butler saw their tent about eight meters ahead, lowering his gun and stepping hard on the crunching snow; the last thing he needed was to get a bullet to his head from a nervous rookie. No response was given. He didn’t want to give out his position that easily, but he should nonetheless.

“It’s Butler!” he enunciated clearly, walking closer very slowly “From the Ichi squad. I’m reporting as previously requested. We tried to report to the San squad, but they were eliminated. Squad leader Batista, I’m going to…”

He felt something blocking his next step, thinking it to be a tree trunk or a rock. When he lowered his Sig Sauer, holding his flashlight with his opposite hand, he saw Morrison’s body. One of the three men of  the Ni squad. He immediately tensed up, raising his gun and taking a few careful steps ahead. Close to the ashes of what had been a bonfire lied Spencer, also dead. Butler lowered himself almost to his knees, turning his flashlight to the inside of the tent. There was Batista. All dead with gunshot wounds on their heads and necks. This person was a good shooter.

He got up to look around one, two, three times. Never could be too careful. When he felt slightly safer, he sighed, lowering his gun. His squad was the last one remaining. This killer was good. When Butler was about to plot some kind of way to lure the killer into a trap, a loud crack echoed through the cold night air, and Butler immediately curled himself into a ball to then lie flat on his stomach, crawling on the rocky, icy ground. Gunfire. His breathing was shallow, his eyes wide looking for a decent cover. There, a large rock, more tall than it was wide, but it would still have to be enough. Another shot echoed, ringing in his ears. Sniper rifle, he knew the sound too well after his training. The minute the sniper adjusted his aim, he’d be a dead man. He kept crawling, fast but careful until he reached the rock and managed to hide most of himself behind it. His heart pounded in his chest, his blood flow hammering on his hears like war drums, his whole body almost undulating due to his rapid breathing.

He waited. And waited. And waited. No shots were fired again, but he knew too well that if he moved, a bullet would go straight into his skull. His stomach churned – Commons and Peretti were alone and unaware of the killer’s whereabouts. He had to find them, but how?

He looked at the flashlight in one of his hands and the laser aim Sig Sauer in the other, thinking hard. No point in being scared or panicking. He could’ve died many times during his training, this was just another one. Right now, he needed a diversion. Very well. He’d only have one chance.

Pulling out the cord off his coat’s hood, he tied it to the flashlight with a double knot. His hands were steady, his breath even. He really did manage to remain calm under stress, to put all the panic and fear under an analytic state of calm. It was a checklist of things to do, noting more. Get the sniper’s attention. Get rid of his threat, even if only temporarily. Regroup with the others.

He drew a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. This was it. One, two, three. He  threw the flashlight to the side of the rock, holding it firmly by the cord. Another gunshot echoed, and this time Butler could see the ice flying everywhere where the bullet had hit the ground, pretty close to the flashlight. He gave a few tugs on the cord, making the flashlight move as if it were held on trembling hands. The timespan of  a rifle being recharged was roughly done. Butler dropped to the ground beside the flashlight right before the gunshot hit it. The thing exploded with the bullseye precision, a particularly sharp bit of it flying off and cutting Butler on his cheek. He paid no mind, he couldn’t. Not as he saw the gleam of the sniper lens, pointing the laser aim of his gun right at its direction. The gleam shifted and disappeared, almost as if the one holding the gun had let it fall off their hands. Butler probably managed to mess his sight for a while thanks to the laser pointer.

So he ran right to the middle of the bamboo woods. Terrible terrain to run on not to mention the risk of running face-first into a branch, but a lot safer. It’d be much more difficult to get a shot on him now. Butler kept running. Commons and Peretti had to be fine. He muttered a curse under his breath – he wasn’t supposed to be like that, wasn’t supposed to grow attached, to make connections. But Commons was just like his sister and Peretti… There was something special about him too.


	2. The Assassin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Butler is on to the assassin's game now. It's up to him, Commons and Peretti to find out his whereabouts and eliminate the killer's threat before they get to Madam Ko in the abandoned temple but something is not right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for violence in this chapter.

When Butler got to their camping area, Commons was standing up from her guarding position, rushing to him.

“Thank god you’re back!” said Commons with a deep sigh, her eyes wide “I thought I heard gunfire, but I wasn’t sure...”

She scanned over Butler’s face, raising her hand to cup his left cheek, running her index and middle finger over it. When she drew her hand back, her fingers were smudged with blood.

“…The hell happened to your face?”

Butler shook his head sharply.

“My flashlight was hit by a bullet and a shard got my face. It’s not deep. Will you stop looking at me like that?”

Commons looked like she wanted to wrap her arms around Butler and sing him a goddamn lullaby. Butler and Peretti always taunted her by calling her a kid, but the truth was that she eldest of them. She had just finished her first semester at college when she decided to drop everything to become a professional bodyguard, and she was eighteen at the time. Now she was twenty-three, five years older than Butler, who was eighteen now, and three years older than Peretti, who was twenty now. Actually, both she and Peretti agreed that Butler’s family couldn’t be right in their minds sending a thirteen year old to Ko’s deadly training. Everyone else there was at least sixteen on day one except for him.

“…Okay.” She muttered, patting him on the shoulder “Okay. Thought you were a goner, pal.”

Butler pushed her hand off his shoulder, annoyed.

“Not that easy, getting rid of a Butler.”

“I know you wanna sound cool but your last name is just ridiculous.”

The lack of a bad pun involving Commons’ last name drew Butler’s attention to the fact that Peretti was nowhere to be seen. Commons saw where his eyes were looking at towards the other now snowy path ahead and shook her head, frowning.

“Relax, he’s just taking a piss somewhere nearby, must be back anytime soon. Now, tell me: what the hell happened out there?”

Butler got Commons’ binoculars off her neck and over her head, using it to look around. The sun had set already. It would be harder to see them at night. Still he picked Commons’ flask that was lying on the ground close to her cigarette pack and poured some ofits content over the fire. Commons’ eyes grew even wider now.

“Butler, what on earth are you…?”

“Can’t let him see us.” he drank some of the water, closing the lid and wiping his chin with his sleeve “The killer. He shot the other squad. Rivera and the others are dead and I almost got shot too.”

Commons ran her hand over her hair, her features tensed in a mix of anguish and anger.

“Goddamn shooter saved us for last?” she made a pause, biting her lip “D’you think he got to Ko’s in the temple? Think he killed her already?”

Butler kept scanning around with the binoculars. Night vision or not, they still weren’t being much helpful. Maybe the assassin was camouflaged, maybe he wasn’t even there anymore. Good luck sleeping at night with this on your mind, Butler thought to himself.

“That crazy lady’s not gonna drop so easily. Also, the only possible routes to the temple would be either climbing from the San squad’s camp side, and we would see the killer and shoot him down, or…”

“Or over us and then climbing the rock behind us on to the temple’s outer walls.” completed Commons grabbing her cigarettes “Ah, great, we have a target on our backs one way or another.” She shoved a cigarette between her trembling lips “I swear to god, Peretti better be taking a dump in the woods or I’m gonna kill him for taking so long and making me worry.”

 

* * *

 

Peretti didn’t come back for more thirty minutes. Commons went to her backpack in the tent, picking up a smaller, silver flask from there and extended it to Butler.

“I managed to slip some scotch under Madam’s nose. Gonna help us warm up.” Butler gave her a stern look and she shook the thing right under his nose “Don’t be such a boy scout, we’re gonna freeze our asses out here without the fire.”

Butler accepted the flask, gulping down a sip. The damn thing burned his throat on the way down, but at least that made him even more wired and tense. Good. They’d both end up dead if they fell asleep. He’d barely just gave Commons her flask back when he heard  Peretti’s voice coming from the dark:

“You guys are so lucky I’m not trying to kill you.”

Butler drew his gun in less than half a second, turning and pointing the laser aim straight at Peretti’s head. Peretti, who’d just got there with his rifle strapped loosely over his shoulder, had his hands up in surrender. Commons, who had let out a startled scream, tossed her flask on Peretti’s chest:

“How many times have I told you _not_ to pull your stealthy crap on me?!”

Peretti grabbed the thing on a reflex and chuckled softly as he opened it up and drank from it. He tossed it back to Commons, winking with a charming pout on his lips.

“Hey, how else am I gonna keep you two prepared?” he paused, looking at Butler and abandoning the joking attitude “The hell happened to your face?”

Butler wiped the blood off his cheek absently, muttering in an annoyed tone:

“Doesn’t matter. Batista and the others are dead.”

Peretti knitted his brows in confusion as if he’d misheard it.

“What?”

“We’re the last ones standing.” said Butler daftly, sitting close to what had been their bonfire. “Now we either eliminate the target or we get eliminated.”

Peretti pulled the rifle over his head to then sit beside him, placing the gun on his lap and rubbing his face.

“Ah, shit.”

“Yeah.” Butler checked his wristwatch “Almost ten. We better start rotating. Who needs to sleep first?”

Commons drank a couple of sips off her secret flask, drawing a deep breath.

“If you boys don’t mind, I’m going first.”

“’Don’t mind’? We’re finally gonna get a few hours of you shutting up,” commented Peretti “ _Please do_.”

Commons raised her middle finger to him and knelt down to then get herself into the small tent, curling herself up into a ball. No more than ten minutes later, she was snoring, well deep into her slumber.

“Gonna hand out our location anytime soon.” said Peretti in an amused tone “I thought girls didn’t make all that noise. Hell, my dead grandpa, may god rest his soul, wouldn’t snore this loudly.”

Butler nodded and Peretti placed his rifle on the ground now, close to himself.

“Do you have any idea why someone wants to kill Madam Ko?”

“No idea.” answered Butler fankly “But then again, we don’t know what she’d been doing all these years, now do we?”

“Nope.”

The silence stretched between them for several minutes, and Butler shuffled uncomfortably, still looking around for any hints of the assassin’s whereabouts. The crickets were being noisy this night again, so the last snowfall didn’t kill them all, thought Butler to then reprimand himself for getting distracted. He needed to focus.

He glanced at Peretti, and the other looked back at Butler. He rubbed his left eye thoroughly to the point of redness. HIs eyes were green, but Butler could hardly see them in the moonlit night. Butler felt his face warm with embarrassment when he realized that he was just staring at Peretti for quite a while without any explanation, and averted his eyes quickly. Peretti cleared his throat, placing his own binoculars over his eyes again.

“So, you and Commons?”

Butler frowned, still looking around. Nothing but barely dead bamboo branches and the rocky landscape. No sign of their assassin.

“What?”

“Y’know.” Peretti shrugged “She into you or…?”

Butler’s face moved sharply to glare at Peretti and then back to the bamboo branches.

“What?” he repeated daftly “No, she’s into _you_. Thought you’d have noticed.”

Now Peretti just lowered his binoculars for good, sounding rather surprised.

“What? Me? That makes no sense. I thought she was head over heels for you." he twisted his lips on a smirk "Y’know, the closed-off big dude who’d grown _twice his size_ since he got into the academy, all _mysterious_ and _quiet_ and all that crap.”

Butler lowered his own binoculars too, though he still looked around nervously to then turn to face Peretti.

“No, she’s into you. Says you’re handsome and stuff.”

Peretti ran his fingers through his blond and slightly messy hair, shaking his head and scoffing.

“Well, yeah, I am handsome, that goes without saying but…” he looked at Butler, and until then Butler wasn’t so aware of how very close they were to each other, his knee barely scraping against Peretti’s. “I don’t know. Thought she’d really fall for you.”

Butler’s mouth felt dry and suddenly the assassin’s threat was shoved to the passenger’s seat of the priorities in his mind.

“And why’s that?” asked Butler, wondering why the hell did his voice came out as a whisper, but then Peretti leaned closer, his voice just as much as a whisper.

“‘Cause you’re damn attractive.”

Peretti stared at Butler and Butler stared back. It was just like any fighting training, both measuring each other, looking for weakness, for a hint of the other’s next move, for any signs of discomfort. _Whoever blinks first loses_ , or so Commons would say only to be vastly annoyed when Butler casually said that she could win all staring contests she wanted to and she’d still end up dead if she chose not blinking over having a decent aim when needed. Peretti leaned even closer to Butler’s face, and now Butler could see how his eye was irritated, red veins all over the white. He must’ve been damn tired, like Commons and Butler himself were too.

“And” continued Peretti in a whisper that was just barely audible, his warm breath brushing over Butler’s lips and chin while he still held Butler’s gaze “I just don’t see why she… well, how _anyone_ would pick me over you.”

Butler licked his lips, trying to think of any witty remark to match Peretti’s, but nothing came. Instead, he nodded, and leaned over to press his lips against Peretti’s. The other man did not move away, instead pulling Butler by his arm to then open his mouth a bit further, deepening the kiss. The killer’s threat to their lives seemed to melt away from Butler’s mind like snow in the summer, and he also pulled Peretti by the back of his neck, but his thick and tall collar of his winter coat was on his way, so he just ran his fingers blindly until he managed to reach for its zipper and open it up-

And Peretti just kept kissing him, and _damn_ it if that didn’t feel good, long fingers digging into the back of his head, pulling him further. Butler’s hand went over Peretti’s chest because the thought of checking if Peretti’s pulse was going crazy as his own seemed appropriate, but the warmth he'd felt on his face and neck was replaced by a wet, cold sensation when he reached for his heartbeat. Peretti’s shirt had been damp and damn freezing under his dry and thick coat until then and that just made no sense. Butler forced himself to reopen his eyes, gasping for air.

“Why are you…” he tried to ask, but Peretti just kept kissing him

“Shuddup man” Peretti mumbled between hungry kisses “don’t ruin the mood.”

Butler closed his eyes once more because he wasn’t exactly wrong and damn, it felt good to relax for once after five years of broken bones, Madam Ko barking orders and then a goddamn killer after them. His hands went to Peretti’s back under his coat. Warm and dry. He then discreetly ran them down Peretti’s torso to let them rest on his legs. His pants were damp and cold too. Still kissing him, Butler slid his hands to the side of his thighs. Dry. Just the front of his clothes were wet and cold, but not his coat, and that’d only make sense if he had been lying on his stomach out there in the snowy rocky fields with his coat open.

Like a sniper aiming for a kill would do.

Butler broke the kiss, looking wide-eyed at Peretti, whose eyes were now half-lidded eyes, the left one red and full of veins. The eye he mostly used when aiming his rifle.

_Peretti was the assassin._

His eye must’ve been still stinging from when the Sig Sauer laser aim blinded him for a moment back in the other’s camp. And Butler wanted to punch himself for being so blind all along and only now seeing how all the dots were connected. Peretti had been the one to check the first camp and “find” their mates dead. No, he’d killed them and then told Commons that he needed to take a piss only to get to a spot in which he’d be able to take the other group out easily. And Butler most likely had gotten in the camp just in time to be almost shot too. Hell, this was bad.

Peretti had been toying with him all along and now he was most likely trying to get Butler involved with him in order to make it easier to kill both him and Commons. He couldn’t even warn her – Peretti would be there the whole damn time, watching anything he’d say, probably with a concealed gun always on reach. Butler was clearly in disadvantage for now.

“You alright?” asked Peretti wiping the corner of his own lips with his thumb “You look pale.”

_Time to play dumb_ _and pray that it works_.

“Didn’t…” he cleared his throat that was suddenly very dry “Didn’t think you would…”

He gestured vaguely and  Peretti laughed, shaking his head. Damned charming fucker.

“It’s not that complicated. If I wanna kiss someone, I just do. Dudes, girls. I don't care.”

Butler nodded sharply, straightening himself back up and trying to stifle the voice in his brain that kept telling him that maybe Peretti wasn’t the killer despite all evidence. This was probably how Peretti had learned to get people out of his way, with his charm and wit and good looks. At some point during their second year in the academy he did mention something about not thinking too much about the future because handsome men like himself could get anything they wanted.

“We should keep an eye out, Elliot.” said Butler “There’s a killer after us.”

Peretti straightened himself up too, though with a much more relaxed posture. Bastard even winked.

“Are we on a first name basis now? What do I call you then?”

Butler placed the binoculars over his eyes. His hand was steady. His posture was impeccable. Nothing about him gave away that he knew a cold-blooded killer sat next to him waiting to shoot both him and Commons dead.

“You call me Butler. I’m not giving up my secrets that easily.”

Peretti chuckled lightly, and they went back to watching – watching for a ghost, Butler knew it. Peretti was their so-called assassin and the whole watching thing was ridiculous. But he could flip it to his favor. At some point, Peretti would need to sleep. That would be his window. He’d need to be patient until then. When Commons woke up, poking her head out of the tent and offered to watch, Butler waited to see Peretti’s move.

“Why don’t you get some sleep, Butler?”, he suggested with a nod

Butler drew a sharp breath. Steady, now.

“Don’t feel sleepy, I’m good.”

Peretti frowned.

“But you took all that walk to Batista’s camp.”

“I said I’m fine.” cut Butler “Me trying to sleep would be a waste, since I’m very much awake. Maybe you should sleep.”

Peretti looked from Commons to him. His eyes seemed to dart to Butler’s holstered Sig Sauer for a second, but then it was gone and he smiled.

“I’m good too. Just go back to sleep, Commons.”

Commons yawned, her lids heavy with sleep.

“Yeah, well, I won’t object to that. G’night again then.”

She crawled back into the tent and Butler gritted his teeth. Slippery bastard. This would take a while.

 

* * *

 

The morning came foggy and cold as usual, and Commons was still snoring inside the tent, blissfully unaware of the tension outside. Peretti looked at Butler to then rub his eye.

“What do you think of madam Ko?”

Butler frowned at the question, lowering his binoculars and turning to Peretti.

“Same thing you said on day one. Batshit crazy.”

Peretti chuckled to then lick his upper lip, looking ahead into the bamboo trees.

“Yeah, damn right.” He paused, running his hand over his hair “What do you think about her whole ‘everything for the charge’ lecture?” Butler didn’t answer, and Peretti scratched his chin. “No, really. If your charge were to get shot, would you pull him out of harm’s way hoping for the best or would you just take the damn bullet for them?”

Butler thought of the small child on the Fowl’s employee’s arms. Artemis, they had decided to call him. It wasn’t up to Butler to judge their choice for a woman’s name.

“Take the bullet.” he answered honestly “If it was necessary.”

Peretti rolled his eyes.

“She brainwashed you too, eh?”

Butler did not answered. It was about six in the morning when Commons woke up all startled.

“Why the hell didn’t you guys wake me up?” she scratched her forehead, stretching her neck with a pained expression “Damn, we’re supposed to rotate. C’mon one of you, come to sleep. Now.”

Butler locked eyes with Peretti.

“I’m still sleepless.”

“So am I.”

Peretti wouldn’t even blink, too serious for someone who would make jokes on a whim.

“You really should go to sleep, Butler.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Say, Commons?” asked Peretti without looking away from Butler’s dark blue eyes “Don’t you think Butler here should get some sleep after all that walking earlier today since he woke up at five and walked about 6 miles back and forth to the other guys’ camp”

Commons nodded, sitting beside Peretti.

“You should, man. You look bad, no offense.”

Butler could feel sweat beads on the back of his neck. He looked at Peretti’s hand, casually put over the gun on his holster. No need for the sniper rifle, not from up close like they were. When he looked back up, Butler saw that Peretti had been looking at his eyes. Had he realized that he was suspicious? Peretti laughed softly, but his hand was still on the gun’s grip.

“Go to sleep already or we’re going to start calling you the kid of the group instead of Commons.”

Commons laughed too.

“Oh, I’d like that for a change.”

“Go to sleep, Butler.” there was a hint of an order under Peretti’s tone, and Butler could see his jaw tensing up. Things could get ugly if he didn’t obey.

Butler got up to his feet rather stiffly, looking right into Commons’ eyes, begging she'd understand the discreet urgency in his words.

“If you need anything, I’m a _very light sleeper_. One distressed tone to your voice and I’m up and running.”

Commons smiled.

“I know, we remember when Madam Ko tried to choke you in your sleep as part of the training.”

Butler nodded, kneeling down to get in the tent. He could feel the hostility prickling on the back of his neck. This wasn’t gonna end well. He plopped himself on the sleeping bag, covering himself up and promptly pulling the Sig Sauer out of its holster, crossing his arm over his chest to hold the gun over his ribs, aimed at the tent’s entrance roughly towards Peretti’s direction. Commons had started her usual chattering. Good. That would distract him. Butler was wired up and tensed up so hard the gun hurt the point where it pressed against on his rib bones.

Butler got caught up on Commons’ words. Her life as a former honors student to then drop everything over dreams of an action-packed life, how she missed her son, how badly she missed eating a good pizza back in Brooklyn. Her voice was so relaxed, it was almost soothing. And Butler was exhausted from the long walk and running from the assassin. His eyelids began to feel heavy and he yawned.

Then Peretti’s voice came, talking about America but not in such a disclosing way, not like Commons. He wouldn’t give out information so easily, but Butler was awakened by his voice and bit his lip. Stay up. He had to stay up otherwise he and Commons would be dead. Peretti was talking again now.

“You know what, Commons? This was fun. I’m gonna miss all that talking when you’re gone.”

He made a pause, and Butler heard something metallic clicking. He was tensing up so much his chest felt tight. No way he would do it. It couldn’t be. Butler could sneak up on Peretti before he tried anything. He should at least try to. His breathing was growing faster in his nervousness and he supported his free hand on the ground, meaning to get up.

“What are you talking ab--”

A deafening gunshot cut the silent atmosphere and Commons’ question, and the next sound heard by Butler’s still ringing ears was something heavy collapsing against the ground. Most likely Commons’ body. _Shit. Shit!_ Butler tried his everything not to shake and fought hard to bring his breathing to an even level as he lowered himself back down very slowly. A shadow fell over him, blocking the pale sunlight on the small tent’s entrance. He could see Peretti’s shape poorly reflected on Common’s silver flask, right behind him. He held the gun’s grip tightly, pressing it against his ribs and crossing his other arm over it to prevent some of the kickback. It was an awful position to shoot and he could break his wrist but it was the only way of him not being noticed. He heard Peretti sighing and could feel his presence right behind him. Butler felt the muzzle of his gun against the back of his head, and he clenched his jaw hard not to flinch as the thing was still hot from being fired just a few seconds prior.

"Don't move." came the order on Peretti's voice, and it wasn't playful or charming but cold and sharp "You're already dead."

Butler couldn’t die like this. He wouldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter in this arc is already written and just needs to be polished up. I'll try to post is as fast as you can since I know how waiting for fic's a new chapter can be a pain! Again I must add that english is not my first language and if you wish to add any corrections on the comments, please do. Thanks for reading~


	3. Worth a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Butler's life is on the line, and Peretti may know more than he's telling.

Butler pulled the trigger, hearing the loud bang that almost muffled out Peretti’s pained scream. He rolled over, getting to his feet and shooting indistinctively on his direction, but the other was scrambling out, firing back at him as well, luckily too surprised to actually get a good aim before he stumbled backwards out of the tent. Butler followed him, gun pointing straight at head level, but Peretti had disappeared of his sight, most likely taking cover somewhere. The foggy morning wasn’t helpful at all, and Butler could barely see anything more than three meters ahead. He rushed to Commons, crouching by her side while still pointing the gun towards the foggy trail ahead. There was a growing puddle of blood under Commons’ body, and she coughed softly. Butler ran his hand over her body close to where the blood puddle was until he identified the wound on her right shoulder. The bullet had got right through it, in and out, two big wounds gushing blood out of her. Commons looked rather pale, and her eyes were cloudy, and Butler’s ears were ringing so much he could barely hear what she said.

“Butler…? Be careful… Elliot… He’s the…”

“Shh, I know, Victoria. I know.” cut Butler sharply. The woman would bleed to death if he didn’t do anything quickly. “Stay still. I’ll get rid of him and rush you to the temple so that Ko can help me dressing this wound, okay?”

He tried to get up, but Commons grabbed his coat with her good hand.

“My son… His name is Sid, Sidney Commons. Tell him I love him, okay? Can you do this for me?...”

Butler got up to his feet, speaking between his clenched teeth.

“You tell him that yourself. Wait here.”

Commons laughed weakly:

“Wait here… Hahaha... I can’t believe you made a joke…again…”

She closed her eyes, and her chest moved very slowly with her pained breathing. Butler had to be quick despite the voice in his head telling him she was going to die anyway. Butler looked down and saw the blood drips contrasting against the thin layer of white snow on the ground. So Peretti was wounded. Butler kept his guard up, following the trail. It went into the bamboo woods, so he followed it, crouching and taking each step carefully. The bamboo woods formed a labyrinth in the mountain, dense as it was. Despite the fog, Butler could see Peretti’s brown coat further ahead, and quickly aimed the Sig Sauer his hooded head. When he took a few extra steps beyond the bamboos blocking most of his view he realized his coat had been actually hanged to one of the bamboo trees, right before the edge of the cliff in which the woods ended.

And damn, was Peretti good at stealth his way without a sound, because the only thing Butler heard was the loud bang of his gun going off, then his right leg gave way as he collapsed to the ground. His gun was still firm on his grip and he tried to ignore the blinding pain, raising it to try and get a shot at—

“No.” ordered Peretti, pointing his pistol at Butler, his breathing coming off ragged through his blood stained teeth; he wore his black undershirt and his white blood-stained camouflage pants, and Butler could see the wetness of his blood on the left side of his torso which he pressed with his free hand. “You stay down. You stay the hell down.”

Butler froze in place. His leg hurt like hell, and he felt dizzy from it. Madam Ko’s ass-kicking in his first day had nothing on a bullet wound on his thigh. This was dangerous, he thought to himself. Thigh. Muscles. A lot of veins and arteries. One of them could let him bleed out in about two minutes. He wished Peretti’s aim wasn’t that good, despite the trail of corpses in his wake claiming the opposite.

“Throw your gun away.” barked Peretti

Butler hesitated, but then obliged, throwing the Sig Sauer at Peretti’s feet. He kicked it even farther away from Butler’s reach and laughed bitterly.

“I knew you’d be trouble. Knew it from day one. I had Commons in my hand but you… You were hard to win over. I’m a bit offended, you know? Nobody thought ill of me before. I’m charming just like that. The funny guy. Skilled, but not too much. Do you think I wanted to be the best in sniping class? That would draw a lot of attention. That’s why I let Commons have it. She’d feel superior and would be easier to charm. People are so easy it’s boring.”

Butler huffed, clenching his teeth against the pain. The snow beneath him was helping numb out the pain, but on the opposite hand he was goddamn freezing. Peretti furrowed his brows.

“Pretty sure you wanna know why I did all this.”

Butler closed his hands into fists. Buy some time. Do what he wants. Entertain him.

“To kill madam Ko? Wasn’t it the main thing?”

Peretty chuckled to then cough, spitting blood on the white snow.

“Well, yes.” he swallowed hard, licking his lips “Of course. But killing her students was important too. Making sure nobody will never follow her shitty codes again. I want her dead and forgotten, no legacy to be upheld.”

Butler shook his head in an attempt to stay awake. The bleeding was doing its job on taking his away his strength.

“Why? What do you get from this?”

Peretti lowered his gun, because Butler wasn’t a threat anymore and he knew it.

“My brother trained under her. Obsessed over her honor bullshit.” Peretti scretched his forehead with the back of his gun hand “Worked for the Spiro family in Chicago and when someone tried to off his boss he fucking threw himself in front of the gunman. Got himself killed over nothing, and Spiro himself was murdered two weeks later by other people because that how mafia business work. And me? All I got was a dead brother and an anger that just wouldn’t go away. He deserved better. Better than that.”

Butler breathed hard through the pain. His breathing would condensate like mist on the cold atmosphere, and he swallowed hard, trying to come up with a plan while keeping Peretti interested in the conversation.

“I understood brotherly love, Elliot. I’d do anything and everything for my sister. But killing our mates…”

“They had to die!” screamed Peretti, brandishing the gun at Butler with a hand that trembled now “No legacy for that bitch, no more ‘dying for your charge’ bullshit, no more people believing her crap! And after I’m done with you…” he looked further ahead, to the direction in which the ancient temple was above them “and her, I’ll put a bullet to my brains and the charade is over.”

Butler bit his tongue, fighting the dizziness that tried to cloud his mind. Bleeding and cold – two elements that would always lull someone into a sleep they most likely wouldn’t wake up from. He needed to act quickly, even though he didn't know how.

“You’re bleeding heavily.” Butler’s words were slurred, almost unintelligible “You won’t be able to take on Ko like this. Don’t be stupid, Elliot. Give up. Surrender.”

Peretti paid no attention, aiming straight at Butler’s forehead, his thin blood-red lips quivering.

“No. I’ll die trying if I--“

A gunshot rang in the air, and Butler saw the blood spraying from Peretti’s left thigh. He looked down at himself wide-eyed for a split second before he collapsed with a pained grunt. The gun slipped from his fingers, clattering on the rough, barely snow-covered stone.

Raising his eyes up, Butler could see Madam Ko up ahead, holding a still-smoking gun with the posture of a trained soldier, her face devoid of any emotion. She wore a long sleeved shirt and pants, all white in a way that made her look like a ghost in the snowy landscape, walking through the bamboo trees. Their master walked to her fallen students, smashing the snow under her sandals and lowering her gun to then kick Peretti’s gun down the cliff’s edge.

“Madam…” Butler had begun to say, but she paid him no attention, kicking Peretti on his ribs, forcing him to roll on his side.

The woman looked no more than slightly annoyed.

“You think I didn’t make a background check on you? That I wouldn’t recognize my deceased student’s last name? Are you such a fool?”

Peretti pressed the fresh wound on his leg, looking at Ko with a look of raw hatred that Butler knew would haunt his dreams for a long time.

“You brainwashed Anthony! You made him kill himself over nothing!”

“And you killed six of my students over nothing.” answered Ko without batting an eye “Your brother was a good student. He made me proud.”

“Fuck your pride!” bellowed Peretti “I wanted him alive!”

Ko turned her back on him, muttering a curse in what sounded like Japanese. She crouched to Butler, taking a look at his wound.

“And what are you doing down begging for your life like a dog?” she asked sharply “This is nothing.”

But she made him lie on his back, carefully applying pressure to the wound. Butler heard the rustling noise and looked past her to see Peretti dragging himself away towards the cliff's edge. A high and rocky fall awaited from there, and with it, almost certain death.

“Elliot…” he tried to warn her “He’s gonna…”

“Yes.” said Madam Ko coldly “Let him.”

Peretti looked at Butler and smiled through his reddened teeth right before he rolled himself over the edge. He fell down without a scream. Butler would take pity on him, but the thought of Commons’ gunshot wound and the pain of his own were making it quite hard to do so. His mind grew hazier and his eyelids shut themselves without his command, and  darkness took over his mind, leaving him unconscious.

 

* * *

 

When Butler came to, he opened his eyes to see that he lied on the floor in a wooden construction, his legs tucked inside a sleeping bag. The enormous Budha statue a few feet to his right meant he was most likely inside the hidden temple. There were quite a few soft pillows under him so that he was almost on a sitting position, but his attempt to straighten up sent a jolt of pain on his still injured leg. He could smell tea – jasmine at that – and when he looked to his other side, he saw Madam Ko pouring it in two delicate china cups from a kettle that had the same blue pattern on it. He tried to sit up straight once again but the sensation was as if his whole body was cursing him for even daring to consider it.

Madam Ko extended him a cup of smoking hot tea.

“You were out for almost three days. And you were extremely lucky. Apparently, not many muscular fibers were damaged. You will be walking normally in about six months if your organism is like your mother’s. One of the first women I took in as a teacher. Skilled fighter.”

Butler didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded. His head was laying on enough pillows so that he’d be able to drink the tea she offered him. It was piping hot, but he drank it down in a single gulp. There was no point in dreading the question; he had to ask it.

“Where’s… Where’s commons?”

Madam Ko was blowing softly on her own teacup, her eyes not on Butler but on one of the engraved columns. He couldn’t tell if she was being nonchalant or if she was just deliberately avoiding his eyes.

“I retrieved her body while you were out, then I fixed up your leg before retrieving the others. She did not make it.”

Butler’s eyes grew wide, and he felt like he was getting shot all over again. Victoria Commons was dead. The funny girl from camp was dead. Sid Common’s mother was dead. Madam Ko snarled.

“Don’t let this hurt you. You can’t afford to.” she said flatly “In this line of duty, many people will bleed and beg for their lives in front of you, and many people will die, sometimes because you'll have to kill them. And it’s your duty to keep working through it. Emotions will slow you down. Attachment will get you killed. There’s a reason your family has a tradition of never sharing their first names. Do you understand this?”

Butler just stared at her, his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched as his breathing got more and more labored. When his voice came out it was hoarse, and it sounded like a rabid dog's growl.

“You knew it.”

Madam Ko twisted the cup between her fingers, sighing softly as if this was some of her bullshit tea ceremony crap and that made it all even more infuriating to Butler. He tossed the empty cup halfway across the temple, and it crashed against the altar where there was a gold Budha statue. He tried to get up despite how painful it was, and it was like the adrenaline pumping in his blood made it possible for him to sit down properly. He could feel the wound on his leg reopening, but he paid no mind in his fury.

“ _You knew it_!" he screamed "You _knew_ it was Elliot, you _knew_ he was the one who wanted you dead and you sitll let him shoot Batista and Spencer and everyone else and Victoria _died_ because of this! _Why?!_ ”

Ko didn’t flinch or move despite a man who was six and a half feet tall screaming at her, at arm distance from her face. Instead, she drank a sip from her cup. Butler was panting in pain and anger and grief and he was _fucking pissed_ because he thought he was better than that, after being told repeatedly by his mother to never let feelings get on the way, but in the end he was flesh and blood and _flawed_ like anybody else, and he wish he wasn’t, he wish he could delete Victoria’s laughter and Elliot’s kiss off his mind instead of watching the whole thing replaying in his head over and over again.

Madam Ko set her cup on the wooden floor, still not looking at Butler.

“You identified and helped taking down the threat. The blue diamond is yours. I will carve it on your skin myself if you wish me to. Is that good to you?”

Butler fought the urge to reach for Madam Ko’s neck and strangle her. Instead he swallowed hard, hot anger twisting in his guts as his tone was lowered to a growl because it was either that or striking that mid-30’s Japanese woman in the face and he wasn’t sure he’d stop at the first punch.

“No, that’s not fucking good to me, you goddamn psycho.”

Madam Ko now looked up to the Budha statue as if she was looking for something on it.

“Your sister gave birth to a girl three years ago, shortly after you joined the academy.” said Ko like someone telling about some dull news heard on the TV “Your mother didn’t wish for you to know back then, but she’s had another child fifteen years ago, one you didn’t know of. The boy’s name is Domovoi, in honor of your great-grandfather, I suppose. The news about the girl came attached to this, sent to me by your mother.”

Butler looked down to the object she’d placed on the floor. It was a small ring made of some kind of green stone, and he recognized it – Nadia had gifted her niece with it many years ago, when she was sixteen and Butler was just a little boy – it was the jade ring Katya Butler would wear on her necklace every day. He reached for the object, pocketing it. Madam Ko snapped her fingers and a young woman with black hair tied up in a flawless bun came from beside the altar, kneeling beside Butler to place the cup and kettle on a tray, taking it away.

“A helicopter will come for us tomorrow." said Madam Ko "Try to get some rest if you want that leg of yours to be working properly anytime soon.”

Butler collapsed back onto the pillows, looking at Madam Ko and snarling.

“No. I want my tattoo. Now.”

Madam Ko finally looked at him to then shake her head, and Butler wished he could make something out of her face, but it was just her usal blank expression.

“You’re just like Nadia. I’ll do your arm then. Easy to cover up under a sleeve but easy to show in order to get entrance to some closed off circles.”

And with that, she snapped her fingers again and another woman came from the shadows behind the altar, carrying a tray on which, Butler could see when she placed it beside him, lied what looked like an inkwell and a strange-looking wooden pen.

“Traditional tattooing can hurt more than regular tattooing. No engines to make it quick and numb.” explained Madam Ko, picking up the strange pen, and Butler could now see the row of needles lined up on its tip “But many of my students find the pain to be part of the reward for coming so far.”

 _Commons got far too_ , thought Butler bitterly, _she deserves a blue diamond as well_. And when the needles began piercing the diamond shape on the side of Butler's arm very slowly, placing the ink under the surface of his skin, he did not flinch. His numb self couldn't feel anything, not after the five years of training at Madam Ko's academy and what he had seen out there in the Paro mountains.

Part of him was still getting over the fact that he was an uncle now, to Katya’s children. Domovoi and Juliet. But whatever emotion was supposed to bubble up in his chest because of that had been killed at some point out there in the cold. Instead, all he could think of was going to the army and leaving all of this behind, especially his sister and her kids. He had to be away from them, keep them from harm's way. He could shoot, he could obey direct orders, he could kill a man with his bare hands. He’d make a fine soldier. But no more worrying for others, no more trying to protect others. He was not cut for this. Multiple faces, blue diamond, blah blah blah. The philosophy was beautiful but he didn’t want that for his life, not ever again, not after Victoria Commons.

 

Butler fell asleep – more like collapsed – throughout the tattooing process, and when he came to, Madam Ko was sitting next to him, now wearing a black set of clothing. Butler looked down at his arm to see the blue diamond shape still dark and healing on his arm. He knew he was supposed to feel proud but he only felt nauseous. Madam Ko pointed at his leg, shrugging almost unnoticeably.

“If you didn’t want to, I don't think you'd even need any medical attention for this. I gave you a few stitches when I brought you in and it’s already almost good. You won’t be using this as your supporting leg, or your kicking leg anytime soon, but still, you really are Nadia’s son. Her wounds would heal up incredibly fast too. The helicopter will be  here in an hour, now, can you stand up?”

She extended her staff to him and if any part of his still had humor, he’d laugh at the thought of using the damn thing she’d beat him with as a walking cane. Instead, Butler sat up, realizing his leg really did not hurt that much anymore, though he almost rejected that thought when a jolt of pain rushed through him as he got up, using the staff to support his wheight. Something had been bugging him since he’d spoken to Madam Ko shortly before she gave him his tattoo, but he couldn’t identify exactly what was it. Then it hit him like a brick.

“Madam, where had you been keeping the jade ring and the note attached to it since you got it back in the camp?”

Madam Ko frowned, walking beside him to the temple’s main gates. They could hear the helicopter’s engine approaching

“In my office. Close to my great grandfather’s sword. Why?”

Butler’s stomach felt like it was sinking down. The sword Peretti had stolen easily with his stealth habilities. _If he'd seen the note, if he'd read the envelope_... Butler tried to run despite his leg and almost fell down. Madam Ko held him in place by his arm, and he was shocked by her skill and strength to hold a man far bigger than herself. Butler felt the warmth draining from his face while he still tried to run, thanking his adrenaline for making it less difficult so.

“My sister...!" he grunted, eyes wide "He must’ve read her address.”

It didn’t matter how much Madam Ko guaranteed that there was no way Peretti had gotten down the mountain alive, much less to Katya. It did not matter how much she screamed that he needed to go to a hospital while he threatened to throw himself off the helicopter unless the pilot set the course to Volgograd, Russia. It didn’t matter how Madam Ko begged him not to do it as he pulled the driver out of the car requested by her and how he now drove like a madman through the streets. He had to get there fast. He’d memorized it ever since Katya announced her engaging. _Left on Lenina avenue - straight for two blocks on Rikarda - right on Sochinskaya-left on Semashko. Number 45._

The wheels screamed against the asphalt as he suddenly stop dead on track. Butler left the car door open with the engine still running and ran to the small blue house at the end of the street, not minding the curious locals looking and pointing a him as he vaulted over the wall, rushing to the blue house's door.

There was blood on the doorknob and the door was half open. _No._ No, it couldn't be _._ Butler rushed inside, the gun on his hand even though he couldn’t even remember having pulled it out of his holster. His steps were soft even though his breathing wasn’t. There was a man lying on the kitchen floor and his description matched his sister’s boyfriend so that most likely the man who was her husband now. Butler didn’t bother checking for vital signs. The massive puddle of blood that made the air stink like copper and death under his body was enough evidence. He turned left, going upstairs, trying to muffle the scream for his sister’s name that clawed at the back of his throat.

Once he was upstairs, he could hear something clicking over and over, like his mother would do with a pen when she was annoyed. He walked down poorly lit corridor, not daring to turn on the lights. He could still feel the heavy smell of blood and wondered if it was the corpse downstairs when he saw there was someone collapsed on the floor. He knew that long, wavy blond hair.

“No, no, no…”

He rushed to Katya, kneeling beside her. She was lying on her stomach, and it wasn’t hard to see the entrance hole of the bullet fired on her back at her heart’s height. Butler knew that burned pattern on her green sweater. The killer – Elliot – had pressed the gun against her back and shot her. The clicking sound kept filling the air, and Butler got back to his feet trying not to think that the sister that used to sing him lullabies was dead on the carpet.

He walked towards the sound, in a room to which the door was open. The clicking noise was louder now, closer with every step. Butler drew a deep breath and turned to look inside, pointing the Sig Sauer ahead, and nothing could have get him prepared to what he saw there.

The room was a nursery after all, walls painted yellow and white curtains hanging over the half-open window. There was a crib close to the opposite wall, in which a small baby began to cry softly. On the floor, right in front of Butler lied Elliot Peretti, eyes wide open and massive puddle of blood under his body. He wasn't moving, his mouth gaped openThe stench was nauseating. Farther up ahead between Peretti and the baby in the crib there was a boy with blond hair, his features so very similar to Butler’s own. He seemed not to be older than fifteen and held an old revolver on his hands, pulling the trigger over and over again. So that was the clicking noise.

“Domovoi?” called Butler tentatively; the boy kept pulling the trigger over and over again, his eyes glazed and distant “Domovoi, can you hear me?”

Butler stepped inside the nursery and Domovoi did not move, still trying to shoot an enemy that was long dead. Butler grabbed the gun, pulling it kindly out of his hands.

“It’s over now, kid. He’s dead.”

Domovoi arms were still outstretched, his hands on the perfect position for holding a gun as if he hadn't noticed that Butler had taken it from him. Butler left the empty gun on a dresser nearby and went to the baby’s crib, grabbing her gently. She was wrapped in a dark green blanket, and she cried louder now on her uncle's arms.

“Shh… You must be Juliet.” he said kindly as he walked to Domovoi carrying Juliet in his arms. “C’mon, Domovoi. Let’s get out of here. You don't know me, but I’m your mother’s brother, and I’m here to protect you, okay? I'm your uncle. Do you understand what I'm saying?”

Domovoi rose his eyes to his uncle. They were the exact same shape of his, and held a dull panic that Butler never wished to see on such a young boy's eyes, much less his nephew's.

“D-dad told us to run.” said the boy stuttering “And mom t-told me to protect Juliet. S-she told me to.”

 _Butlers_ , thought Butler to himself, _always protecting others. It just ran in their dna._

“It’s okay, kid. You did good. Now keep your eyes on your sister while we leave. Okay? Don’t look anwyhere else. Look only at little Juliet.”

Domovoi nodded, and so they left the nursery. When they passed by Katya’s body, Domovoi tried to look at her but Butler called his name sharply.

“Domovoi! Eyes on Juliet!”

They went downstairs, and again Butler had to order him to keep looking at Juliet instead of his father’s body. When they were outside, Butler opened the car’s passenger seat, gesturing for Domovoi to get in.

“Here, carry your sister.”

Domovoi took little Juliet on his arms. The baby had her delicate features wet with tears and reddened from crying and Butler took a step back and slammed the door, digging the heels of his hands on his eyes as he let out a pained sigh. Katya deserved better, her husband deserved better, these damn kids deserved better…

He went back inside, walking past his brother-in-law’s body to reach for the phone attached to the kitchen wall and dialing a number on the disk.

“Fowl residence?” asked a feminine voice on the other side

“Get me madam Butler.”

“Who is this, please?”

“Her son. Butler.”

He waited a few agonizing minutes before he heard his mother voice on the other side.

“Butler?”

“Mother, Katya and her husband are dead. Murdered.”

There was silence for so long that Butler thought the call had been cut off. Then his mother spoke, her voice sounding strangely dry even for her.

“How?”

“One of Madam Ko’s former students. They meant to hurt me through her.”

Long silence again. Butler thought he heard glass shattering on the other side. Maybe his response to Madam Ko by breaking his teacup was something to expect of a Butler, and maybe this is why Madam Ko seemed to pay no mind to his outburst of anger.

“How are my grandchildren?”

“Alive. Unharmed. The older kid killed the assassin.”

New silence.

“Good.”

“Mother, I’m thinking about maybe bringing them to the manor, if master Fowl would be kind enough to—“

The call was cut off, and Butler was left looking at the yellow phone for a few seconds before hanging it up again and heading back to the car. When he sat on the driver’s seat, he looked perfectly on control of himself and thank god, because he had to give this poor kid some sense of security. He looked at him through the mirror’s reflection and tried to sound hopeful despite how broken he felt inside.

“You’ll be fine. I’m taking you home now.”

Domovoi nodded absently, looking out of the window to the home that was his up to now.

“Who are you?” asked Domovoi hoarsely, his eyes far off, unfocused “What’s your name?”

Butler pressed his lips in a fine line.

“Can you keep a secret?”

The kid shugged, shaking his baby sister softly in his arms. Goddamnit, he looked like hell.

“Sure, whatever.”

Butler was going to turn the key when he realized that he had left the engine running already. He'd have to drive to the airport, and he still remembered how to get there from the only time he had visited his sister in Russia before. He hit the gas, still looking at Domovoi's reflection as he turned around on the block, sighing heavily.

“My name is Myles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would appreciate kudos and comments, even if they're just a smiley face. I'm thinking about making a series out of the many headcanons I have for the Major, so let's see how this goes! Thanks for reading~

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update as soon as possible. I apologize for any gammar or pacing mistakes as English is not my first language. I hope the ride wasn't too bumpy!


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